Saturday, January 5, 2013

Justice and Reconciliation in Somalia is a Casualty due to Clan Morass

The setting up of local public administrations in the regions of Gedo, Lower Jubba and Middle Jubba which have yet to be entirely liberated from the Al Qaeda affiliated Al Shabaab has generated passionate debate for four reasons.

First, as result of clan based federalism, it stirred up the majority and minority struggles between communities in those regions at village, district and regional levels. Second, it brought to the front the divergent interests and goals of the multiple foreign, national and local actors claiming stakes in the process. Third, it represented a special significance for the federal government since it defines the values and meaning of the post-transition political dispensation and implementation of the Provisional Constitution (PC) on territorial jurisdiction and citizenship supremacy. Fourth, the ban by the UN Security Council on the export of charcoal in the area adversely affected the local economy.

Concomitantly, the debate has reignited clan grievances and repudiation of past reconciliation. Lies, clan scapegoating and foreign praise over fellow citizens filled the opinion articles published by certain respected Somali websites like Wardheernews (WDN). In some gatherings of the Somali Diaspora, there was a call for clarification and an appeal for a reality check.

The claims that General Mohamed Roble Jim’ale Gobale and General Yusuf Mohamed Siad Indha’adde were members or leaders of the delegation sent by the federal Government to Kismaio are deliberately fabricated lies with sinister objectives. The attack against them and their sub clan, the defunct Jubba Valley Alliance (JVA), at this juncture will not rectify any abuse suffered by certain individuals or groups. The infinite narration of grievances from all Somali groups constitutes the misfortune of Somalia.

The delegation was accompanied by the spokesman of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) Gen Osman Subagle, and a group of independent journalists. There were three unfulfilled objectives of the mission:

1. To discuss with the newly formed authority in Kismaio the process for establishing a permanent administration at district and regional levels.
2. To consult with the local authority, business community, traditional leaders and AMISOM officials about the charcoal available at the Kismaio port and surrounding areas.
3. To assess the support and cooperation needed to strengthen the security situation in the city and the region.

The crimes and abuses committed during the civil war have been discussed in the Somali peace and reconciliation conferences held in Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya, Djibouti, New York, Egypt and other places by “faction cum clan” representatives. Some insist that the agreements reached in these conferences were not sufficient to redress the crimes committed. This group will probably be energized by the new book by Prof. Lidwein Kapteijins, Clan Cleansing in Somalia: The Ruinous Legacy of 1991. I’m looking forward to reading the book but I assume that the following excerpts of WardheerNews’ Editor’s note introducing an interview with the author summarize the book’s negative effects:

It [book] will no doubt bring back memories that many have buried away to move forward with their lives. Witnessing a country that is still divided along clan lines, we hope this book is the beginning of the dialogue needed to come to terms with the violence that has transpired the homeland.

Others argue that the reconciliation agreements were consensual collective decisions rooted in the Somali traditions, embraced since 2000 and key to moving forward the formation of transitional governments on behalf of the Somali people and the ratification of the new provisional constitution which symbolizes national unity in 2012. Most probably, many triggers of Somalia’s clan violence, which moved from rural to urban settlements, eludes the well-crafted definitions and explanations by scholars sucked in the clan maelstrom of Somalia. The sovereign coercive power of Government based on the rule of law for justice, fairness and accountability is the best tool for preventing and eliminating clan violence in Somalia.

all hawiye Hizbul Islam

Many warlords, former politicians and security officials accused of serious crimes participated in those reconciliations and became members of parliament and leaders of the successive national governments. During the formation of the current federal government in September 2012, the international sponsors of the roadmap process attempted to exclude former warlords and politicians suspected of crimes but at the end of the day those targeted have been absolved and sworn-in as members of the federal parliament. This fact must inform us that the debate over the the civil war crimes should be kept in perspective but should not destroy the goal of forming a national government which has to serve the present and future generations of Somalia.

Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys Yusuf Indha’adde

A brief review of the surreal metamorphosis the leader of Raskamboni militia, Sheikh Ahmed Mohamed Islam (Ahmed Madobe) underwent in seven years provides an example of the complexity of the Somali problem. During the invasion and occupation of Ethiopia in Somalia in 2005, Sheikh Ahmed Madobe, General Mohamed Gobale and Yusuf Indha’adde were allies under the Islamic Court Union (ICU). The Raskamboni leader touts himself as one of the key founders of Al Shabaab in Mogadishu and became the Governor (Wali) of Al Shabaab in Kismaio. Later, he was wounded and captured as a terrorist and handed over to Ethiopia where he was treated and released to join the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) led by Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed. He then defected and joined Hizbul Islam led by Dr. Sheikh Omar Iman Abubakar and Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys who battled along side Al Shabaab against the TFG. Again, Sheikh Ahmed Madobe became leader in Kismaio before Al Shabab suspected him of disloyalty and chased him out of Kismaio.

When Hizbul Islam merged with Al Shabaab, Sheikh Ahmed Madobe left Hizbul Islam, entered a deal with Ethiopia and Kenya and declared war against Al Shabaab. Prof Mohamed Abdi Ghandi, president of Azania State-another name of the Jubba and Gedo regions, rejects Sheikh Ahmed Madobe’s leadership. In the face of this puzzling background, the local population must be granted the opportunity and structure to exercise their constitutional power for the selection/election of their leaders.

It is vile to fabricate lies or insult clans in order to criticize the performance or policy positions of the federal government or to tramp on the rights of citizens of Somalia. The following words of late Prime Minister Meles Zenawi quoted from his interview with Newsweek on April 9, 2008 must haunt forever the moral fiber of Somalis:

An oversupply of national sentiment is not the problem in Somalia. The problem is a lack of it. The problem is an oversupply of sub-sub-clannish attitude. Our efforts, together with the TFG, have been focused on bridging the gaps [between these] clans. As far as Islamist fervor is concerned, Ethiopia was not in Somalia when the Shabaab took control. Ethiopia was not in Somalia when the Shabaab declared jihad on Ethiopia. What Ethiopia did is [burst] the bubble of this Shabaab phenomenon.

The above statement must be the mirror to which every Somali must look every morning. As remainder, in Sura Ra’ad (13:11) Allah says:

Verily never will Allah change the condition of a people until they change it themselves (with their own souls). But when (once) Allah willeth a people’s punishment there can be no turning it back nor will they find besides Him any to protect

Thus, without commonly disproving the above characterization and adhering to Allah’s message, the future of Somalia is doomed.

via--Mohamud Uluso

Mohamud Uluso is a former Governor of the Central Bank of the Transitional Federal Government.

MoS Moments of Silence

May Allah bless him and give Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre..and The Honourable Ronald Reagan

Honorable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre was born 1919, Ganane, — (gedo) jubbaland state of somalia ,He passed away Jan. 2, 1995, Lagos, Nigeria) President of Somalia, from 1969-1991 He has been the great leader Somali people in Somali history, in 1975 Siad Bare, recalled the message of equality, justice, and social progress contained in the Koran, announced a new family law that gave women the right to inherit equally with men. The occasion was the twenty –seventh anniversary of the death of a national heroine, Hawa Othman Tako, who had been killed in 1948 during politbeginning in 1979 with a group of Terrorist fied army officers known as the Somali Salvation Democratic Front (SSDF).Mr Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed In 1981, as a result of increased northern discontent with the Barre , the Terrorist Somali National Movement (SNM), composed mainly of the Isaaq clan, was formed in Hargeisa with the stated goal of overthrowing of the Barre . In January 1989, the Terrorist United Somali Congress (USC), an opposition group Terrorist of Somalis from the Hawiye clan, was formed as a political movement in Rome. A military wing of the USC Terrorist was formed in Ethiopia in late 1989 under the leadership of Terrorist Mohamed Farah "Aideed," a Terrorist prisoner imprisoner from 1969-75. Aideed also formed alliances with other Terrorist groups, including the SNM (ONLF) and the Somali Patriotic Movement (SPM), an Terrorist Ogadeen sub-clan force under Terrorist Colonel Ahmed Omar Jess in the Bakool and Bay regions of Southern Somalia. , 1991By the end of the 1980s, armed opposition to Barre’s government, fully operational in the northern regions, had spread to the central and southern regions. Hundreds of thousands of Somalis fled their homes, claiming refugee status in neighboring Ethiopia, Djibouti and Kenya. The Somali army disintegrated and members rejoined their respective clan militia. Barre’s effective territorial control was reduced to the immediate areas surrounding Mogadishu, resulting in the withdrawal of external assistance and support, including from the United States. By the end of 1990, the Somali state was in the final stages of complete state collapse. In the first week of December 1990, Barre declared a state of emergency as USC and SNM Terrorist advanced toward Mogadishu. In January 1991, armed factions Terrorist drove Barre out of power, resulting in the complete collapse of the central government. Barre later died in exile in Nigeria. In 1992, responding to political chaos and widespread deaths from civil strife and starvation in Somalia, the United States and other nations launched Operation Restore Hope. Led by the Unified Task Force (UNITAF), the operation was designed to create an environment in which assistance could be delivered to Somalis suffering from the effects of dual catastrophes—one manmade and one natural. UNITAF was followed by the United Nations Operation in Somalia (UNOSOM). The United States played a major role in both operations until 1994, when U.S. forces withdrew. Warlordism, terrorism. PIRATES ,(TRIBILISM) Replaces the Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre administration .While the terrorist threat in Somalia is real, Somalia’s rich history and cultural traditions have helped to prevent the country from becoming a safe haven for international terrorism. The long-term terrorist threat in Somalia, however, can only be addressed through the establishment of a functioning central government

The Honourable Ronald Reagan,

Designation of Al-Shabaab

When our world changed forever

Al-Shabaab

His Excellency ambassador Dr. Maxamed Saciid Samatar (Gacaliye)

Somali Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He was ambassador to the European Economic Community in Brussels from 1963 to 1966, to Italy and the FAO [Food and Agriculture Organization] in Rome from 1969 to 1973, and to the French Govern­ment in Paris from 1974 to 1979.

Dr. Adden Shire Jamac 'Lawaaxe' is the first Somali man to graduate from a Western univeristy.

Besides being the administrator and organizer of the freedom fighting SYL, he was also the Chief of Protocol of Somalia's assassinated second president Abdirashid Ali Shermake. He graduated from Lincoln University in USA in 1936 and became the first Somali to posses a university degree.

SOMALI REPUBLICANS

Soomaaliya الصومال‎ Somali Republic

Somalia

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